Guest post by Robin Williams who is a financial writer covers debt and other personal finance topics.

Credit cards may seem to be the best thing on earth as it helps you purchase anything anytime without the need of cash. However, if you do not handle your credit cards properly, they may become the cause of all your financial worries. Credit cards are known for their outrageously high interest rates and this is the reason why most Americans are drowning in an ocean of debt. If the consumers would have calculated the debt amount through credit card payment calculator, they would not have been trapped in the vicious cycle of credit card debt. There are some ways in which you can lower the interest rates on your credit cards and make your monthly payments affordable. Read on to know about them.

1. Shop around: There are various credit card companies that are waiting to offer you their cards and make business out of you. In the current financial condition, you need to stay aware of the ways in which you can save money keeping in mind the rise in the costs of goods. Thus, to avoid any kind of financial loss, make sure that you shop around and take credit card interest quotes from more than 4 companies. Check out the rates, whether or not they are in accordance with the present market indices. Choose the one that suits your wallet the best so that you do not default on the minimum monthly payments.

2. Check your credit score: Your credit score is the most important factor that is taken into consideration by the lenders before lending you a credit card. With high interest rates, the monthly payments on a credit card will also be huge. Since there may be cases of credit card defaults, the lenders check the credit score before lending credit cards. A good credit score implies good personal finance management and timely and regular monthly payments. On the other hand, poor credit score will make the lenders skeptical about your repayment ability and they may lend you a card but with higher interest rates making it more difficult for you to repay.

3. Negotiate with your creditors: In some cases, consumers may also find it easier to negotiate with their credit card lenders and make them agree to a lower rate. If you’ve been offered low interest rates by a different credit card company, you may tell this as an example so that the lender alters the rate to keep you dedicated to his company. This kind of negotiation may bring positive changes to the interest rates on your cards as lenders may agree to lower the rates for customer retention.

Therefore, if you’re looking for ways to lower the interest rates on your credit cards, you may simply follow the steps mentioned above. Being stuck in huge amount of credit card debts can be a costly mistake in the long run. Low rates will simply reduce your credit card debt burden. Determine your minimum monthly payments on all your cards through a credit card repayment calculator so that you do not miss out a single payment and incur late fees.

Popularity: 16% [?]

Takaful system is based on mutual co-operation, responsibility, assurance, protection and assistance between groups of participants. In other words, it is the provision of shared contributions to help those who are in need.

Each people and family have their own needs. Therefore their insurance coverage also different. Here is a basic guideline to calculate or analize your needs. The approach that we take here is to have

* 1 year of expenses coverage – taken from surah al-baqarah 240 ( 1 year salary )
* funeral expenses ( rm3000 – rm5000 depends on location
* credit card debt

Example.
K have a salary of rm3000 monthly and credit card debt of rm5000

Using basic takaful need analysis
Takaful benefit coverage needed = 1 year salary + funeral expenses + credit card debt
= ( 3000×12 ) + 4000 + 5000
= rm45,000.00

Hopefully this basic analysis can help you to evaluate your takaful coverage.

Popularity: 14% [?]

Under BNM guidelines, a single loan repayment should not exceed 1/3 of your gross salary and all combined loan repayments cannot exceed 1/2 of your monthly gross pay.

If your monthly salary is not enough, perhaps the annual bonus can help, say monthly salary is RM3K with one month bonus, then your annualised monthly pay is

With Bonus RM3K * 12 months + RM3K (one month bonus) / 12 = RM3,250.
Max monthly repayment = RM3,250 * 1/3 = RM1,072 rounded down to RM1,070.

Without Bonus Max monthly repayment = RM3K * 1/3 = RM1,000

However, it does not help if based on the CCRIS you have a lot of outstanding Credit Card debts.

Popularity: 14% [?]

Suka duka, pahit manis adalah asam garam kehidupan. Saya mengalaminya dan awak juga merasainya. Walaupun kedukaan itu amat perit namun jalan keluar akan ada. Jangan bersedih kerana kegembiraan itu pasti datang. Seperti malam bertukar siang, seperti pagi menanti petang.

Saya akui masalah kewangan pernah menghantui saya. Dengan hutang kad kredit, hutang peribadi dan hutang perniagaan. Anggaran keseluruhan hutang saya adalah rm12,000.00. Umur pun dan 28 ( 2006) pada ketika itu dan aset pun tiada. Apabila kesedaran timbul saya terus mengambil langkah keluar dari bebanan hutang.

Langkah yang saya ambil atau resepi bayar hutang kad kredit dan hutang yang saya ikuti adalah:

a. Mencari sebab kenapa saya boleh berhutang
b. Langkah-langkah membayar hutang

a.mencari sebab kenapa saya boleh berhutang
perniagaan yang tidak menguntungkan. perniagaan boleh memberi pulangan yang baik cuma perniagaan saya jer yang tidak untung iaitu pusat siber. saya mengenalpasti ini sebab utama saya dengan bil elektrik dan internet yang tinggi ( guna ISDN )

Belian tidak terkawal ( compulsive spending ) suka membeli tanpa memikir dengan panjang. Ada komputer baru terus saja membeli dan beli alatan sampingan. Membeli motor RXZ dimana ianay bukan keperluan tapi kehendak.

Membuang masa dengan bermain komputer ( video game, online game ) hutang bermain komputer tidaklah banyak mana tetapi masa yang terbazir itu seharusnya saya boleh mengusahakan untuk menambah pendapatan untuk perniagaan

langkah-langkah membayar hutang
1. menanamkan keazaman membayar hutang dan doa ( there is a will there is a way )
mulanya saya letakkan niat untuk membayar semua hutang saya. kemudian saya berdoa agar dapat pertolongan untuk keluar dari beban hutang.

2. mencari pekerjaan dan bekerja – saya kemaskini resume saya dan mula mencari kerja. Guna jobstreet, JobDB dan sebagainya. Akhirnya dapat dan mula bekerja.

3. menutup perniagaan – perniagaan lama itu masih membebankan lalu saya tutup. Ya memang saya rugi tapi saya perlu bertindak. ( Cut Your Losses )

4. pertingkatkan ilmu kewangan – mula membaca tentang buku kewangan, blog kewangan dan lain-lain. mempelajari kaedah menggunakan kad kredit, membaca penyata kad kredit.

5. mengawal perbelanjaan – membuat catatan mengenai perbelanjaan menggunakan catatan aliran tunai. tulis di merata tempat, simpan resit dll. Tujuanya untuk mencari kemana duit saya dibelanjakan ( mencari duit yang hilang )

6. bayar hutang kad kredit – kad kredit ini saya menggunakan kaedah pindahan wang ( balance transfer ) saya akui ini bukanlah kaedah paling baik. Tapi inilah langkah yang saya gunakan.

Diatas adalah langkah-langkah atau resepi yang saya gunakan untuk mengurangkan hutang. Kini hutang kad kredit saya kurang dari rm500. Hutang pinjaman peribadi kurang dari rm5000. Ya saya mengambil masa yang lama.

Saya berharap para pembaca boleh berkongsi idea dengan saya bagaimana anda melakukanya. Terima Kasih

Popularity: 8% [?]

Credit Card companies charge an annual fee to credit card holders. Charges are varies for each company. Some ranging from RM90-RM120 per annum others as high as RM500 (Platinum Card).

Recently for the past 2 years (2008 & 2009) I been calling and request for Credit Card Annual Fee Waived. Too my amazement I’ve got all my Credit Card Annual Fee Waived.

Tips on Requesting Credit Card Annual Fee Waived.

Check your statement or simply call Customer Service to know when your Credit Card Annual Fee is Due. If its already charged just make a request then it will be waived on your next month statement. Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 12% [?]

Over at personal finance weblog Get Rich Slowly, guest writer April Dykman explains how she curbs unnecessary spending with the flowchart you see here. It’s a simple process that hinges on cost (“Can I afford it?”), need (“Is it something I need or lack?”), and quality (“Is there a less expensive/high quality option?”), and if you were to stick to this flowchart for all your purchases, chances are you’d make considerably fewer regrettable impulse buys.

Let’s look at how this would work using my cooktop example:

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 11% [?]